Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 63,432 Shares of Frontline PLC $FRO

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,903,785 shares of the shipping company’s stock after acquiring an additional 63,432 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc.’s holdings in Frontline were worth $129,966,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Frontline during the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Frontline in the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Frontline in the 3rd quarter valued at $80,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Frontline in the 3rd quarter valued at $97,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in Frontline during the 2nd quarter worth $105,000. 22.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on FRO shares. Clarkson Capital raised Frontline from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Evercore cut shares of Frontline from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Frontline to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Frontline in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Frontline from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Frontline has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.00.

Frontline Stock Down 3.4%

Shares of FRO opened at $38.17 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The company has a market cap of $8.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.45 and a beta of 0.04. Frontline PLC has a one year low of $16.25 and a one year high of $39.89. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.99.

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Saturday, February 28th. The shipping company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $624.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $456.90 million. Frontline had a net margin of 19.31% and a return on equity of 16.51%. Frontline’s revenue for the quarter was up 46.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.20 EPS.

Frontline Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were given a $1.03 dividend. This is an increase from Frontline’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.8%. Frontline’s dividend payout ratio is presently 242.35%.

Frontline Company Profile

Frontline Ltd. (NYSE:FRO) is a leading global shipping company specializing in the seaborne transportation of crude oil and petroleum products. The company’s core business activities encompass the ownership and operation of very large crude carriers (VLCCs), Suezmax tankers and Aframax vessels. Through long-term charters, spot market operations and time charters, Frontline provides flexible shipping solutions that cater to a diverse set of energy producers, refiners and trading houses worldwide.

Frontline’s fleet is geared toward high-capacity, ocean-going tankers capable of carrying large volumes of crude oil over intercontinental distances.